Living Legends
by Dalek Prime
Summary: After one of Varrick's ships goes missing, he enlists Team Avatar's help to locate the survivors who are stranded on an uncharted island. But once they arrive, they encounter creatures from a bygone era as well as a monster whom some consider to be a god on the island. Can Korra and others make it off the island in one piece, or will they face the wrath of Kong?
1. Rescue Mission

A/N: I don't own Legend of Korra or Kong: Skull Island

…..

Chapter One: Rescue Mission

In all honesty, when Korra received a message from Varrick, her first instinct was to ignore it completely. She had more important matters to attend to these days. It had been six months since Kuvira's defeat during the battle of Republic City and the Earth Kingdome still had a way to go before it became a united republic. Roving gangs of bandits still plagued the unstable Kingdome, as well as legions of soldiers who were still loyal to Kuvira and still held power in many territories throughout the once mighty Earth Empire. Korra had been working very closely with the General Iroh and the United Forces in combating both the bandits and the remnants of Earth Empire and hopefully finally bring the stability that the Earth Kingdome had been without for so long.

It wasn't just the Earth Kingdome who required her attention, but also Republic City as well. Ever since Korra and Kuvira had inadvertently created a third spirit portal had the center of the city, tensions between humans and spirits had begun to rise higher than ever before, and as the avatar, it was course Korra's job to bring balance to the world. it was an exhausting task to say the least, but with her friends and family, as well as her girlfriend, she continued to fight for peace.

However, her mission to once again bring balance to the world was put on hold when Varrick had sent both her and Asami a message asking for their assistance in what he called an important matter. The message the millionaire had sent to them didn't specify as to what that important matter was exactly, but it did say that both he and his assistant turned wife, Zhu-Li, would be coming to Republic City in order to further explain the reason as to way he had reached out to them.

That was two days ago, and now the Avatar and her lover were standing by the Future Industries airfield alongside Mako, Bolin and Lin, whom the businessman had also contacted for the same still unknown reasons, watching Varrick's airship land. Following in his brother's footsteps, Bolin had join the police force in the hopes that he could be as great as a detective as his elder sibling was. However, the Earthbender wasn't as…skilled at police work as Mako was, much to the chief's chagrin.

"So, does anyone know why exactly Varrick called us all together?" Bolin asked the others

"Your guess is as good as mine, Bolin" Asami replied "I just hope it's nothing to serious, I've got a lot to do today"

The young industrialist wasn't wrong, ever since the end of way battle of Republic City, Asami's company had a massive undertaking in helping to rebuild the city and rebuild around the spirit portal. The reconstruction of the city had given Asami a massive boost in her business. While Future Industries had be prospering in the past three years since it's near bankruptcy due to Varrick's schemes, the restoration of Republic City had really given Asami's company a massive increase in productivity without the need to build weapons of war.

However, while this good thing Asami and all those employed by her, it did put a strain on her relationship with Korra. Much like the Avatar's duties to the world, the young millionaire had responsibilities to the city and her company. This caused the couple to go weeks without seeing one another, and when they did, it only for a few short days until they had to return to their respective duties. Fortunately, both women understood that they each had a responsibility to the world at large that was bigger than their relationship and gave each other the love and support to one another every step of the way, knowing that one day they would be able to settle down once the world was finally at peace.

Just then, Varrick and Zhu-Li stepped out of their airship. After their honeymoon in the Fire Nation, the newlywed couple returned to the millionaire's native home of the South Pole where Varrick controlled his business while spending time with his new wife. The couple hadn't really been in touch with Korra and the others, until now that is.

"How y'a guy's doing?" Varrick asked the group as he and Zhu-Li approached them

"It's good to see you to, Varrick" Korra greeted before looking over to his wife "and you as well, Zhu-Li"

The former assistant only gave the Avatar a small nod in regard to her greeting before walking past everyone and making her way directly toward Asami's home. Everyone's was taken aback to say the least. They knew that Zhu-li wasn't much of a talker, but it wasn't like her to be outright rude to others like that.

"You'll have to excuse the misses" her husband explained "Zhu-li hasn't been feeling well these past few days. She caught some sort of stomach bug, but don't worry, it's not contagious"

"Tell me you didn't bring us all together just to cure your wife" Mako groaned

"Nope, even better!" the businessman corrected "c'mon, I'll tell you all about it when we're inside Asami's house"

….

Once the group returned to Asami's home, Varrick gathered everyone the living room. Zhu-Li, however, went upstairs to get some rest, but not before helping herself to a box of fire flakes and a large sandwich she made for herself. Korra and the others were a bit perplexed by the former assistants need to eat despite being ill, but they kept their opinions to themselves and instead focused on whatever Varrick had to say.

"Alright Varrick, what's this about?" the Avatar questioned

"Are you doing a reboot of Nuk'tuk?" Bolin inquired with a hint of excitement in his force while his brother and boos glowered at him "What? It could happen? The people want more Nuk'Tuk!"

"Actually, they don't. In fact, I sold the mover rights to another company a few months ago" Varrick mentioned, making the earthbender frown at the news

"Then why are you here?" Lin demanded sharply "I do have a police department to run you know"

In response to that, Varrick reached into his coat and proceeded to pull out a small piece of paper. He then unfolded it and placed it on the table for the rest of the group to see. The piece of paper had a drawing of what looked like an island with what appeared to be coordinates written on the bottom left side of it. Korra and her friends were confused at first by this small map and wondered what this had to do with them. Before they had a chance to ask, Varrick spoke up once more.

"This is a map I got from merchant a few years ago" he began "it leads to a location to a lost island. I've been trying to find it for a long time now"

"That's what this is all about? An island?" Lin scoffed "there is no way I'm leaving my department to go off on some insane expeditions, Varrick!"

"Well thankfully this isn't an expedition, it's a rescue mission" the millionaire informed her "you see I sent a research team out on one of my shipping vessels in order to find this place and see if it was the real deal or not"

"What happened?" Asami asked

"What the merchant didn't tell me was that the island is surrounded by perpetual storms" Varrick answered "the ship I sent to the island was sucked up into those storms. But just before that happened, the ship's captain managed to relay their last coordinates, which is exactly where the island is supposed to be"

"So, let me get this straight" Mako gathered "You sent a ship full of innocent people to some uncharted island that may or may not exist that is surrounded by storms"

"Well it sounds pretty bad when you say it, but yeah, that's the about the gist of it" the businessman replied "I want to send in a rescue team in after any survivors and get them out of there, and I figured that you guys would be perfect for the job. I mean come on, you saved the whole flippin' world for crying out loud—this should be a cakewalk for you!"

Team Avatar was taken aback by this. True, they did collectively have an idea that this was where Varrick was taking conversation, but what they didn't understand was why the millionaire would go to them when he knew that they were busy with other important matters instead of someone else. It was tragedy what happened to those men, but it was still unclear if anyone survived on the island—assuming that there ever was an island to begin with.

"You are aware that we're wrapped up in other things right now, right?" Asami pointed out "Korra's trying to help bring stability to Earth Republic, I'm trying help repair the city after the damage Kuvira's army caused and Mako and Bolin are detectives now"

"Technically I'm a beat-cop" Bolin corrected

"The point is we can't drop everything just save some people that could be dead already" Lin said bluntly

"Despite how the chief put it, she does have a point" Mako added on "We can't leave everything we've worked so hard to rebuild just to search for some people who may not even be still alive"

"It's not like I'm asking you go live on the damn island, just to help me search for any survivors" Varrick countered sharply "Look, it'll be only for couple of weeks—three tops. I've already hired a crew and we're taking the Zhu-Lu—the battleship, though Zhu-Li the wife is coming to. All I need is a few of Asami's airships in order to punch through those storms and for you guys to tag along. You're the only people who I trust in this world—and that's a word I don't use loosely!"

After Varrick plead his case, all eyes then turned to Korra, who had remained silent during the debate. Her arms were crossed over her chest as she kept her line of vision locked solely on the map that was sitting on the table. Asami had noticed that this was a trend that her girlfriend had picked up in recent months. Korra would seem to stare off into space when she was deep in thought, taking on a wise face as she did. It was as if her past lives were reaching out from their severed connection with the young woman. Korra took on this sage-like expression when she was thinking over something as serious as a matter as this. The past four years had given the Avatar a level of clarity that would've given Aang a great sense of Pride if he could see her now.

"Korra…" her lover said as she took her hand in hers "What do you think?"

Korra remained silent for several more seconds before finally giving her answer.

"We should go" she finally answered in bold yet wise tone "We may have a duty to the world, but those survivors are a part of the world. What kind of people would we be if we just ignored this altogether? I know we've all got a lot on our plates right now, but those survivors need our help, and as the Avatar, it's my job to see them returned to home safely"

Korra's words rang true for her friends. How could they call themselves heroes if they left those people to die on some godforsaken island? The world would still be there when they returned, but for those who were trapped on the island, they didn't have that option. It was at that point that everyone knew what course of action they would have to take.

"Well you already know I'm with you, sweetie" Asami assured

"I'm in!" Bolin commented with confidence

"So am I" Mako added

"What about you, Lin?" the Avatar asked

Lin remained silent as she mulled it over in her head, keeping her usual scowl on her face.

"Fine…" she finally relented with a growl "But this better not be some wild otter-goose chase!"

"Yes! I knew I could count on you guys!" Varrick cheered, throwing his fist into the air in triumphed as he did

"Zhu-Li can stay here if she wants" Asami offered "She might be too sick to travel"

"Good luck with that" her former business partner brushed off "I tried to keep her at home, but she refused to leave my side"

"Probably because she knows your helpless without her" Bolin mentioned

The millionaire opened his mouth to argue that point, but then quickly closed since he knew that the former mover star was right.

"So, what's this island called anyway?" Mako inquired

Varrick paused for his usual dramatic effect as his face took on a more ominous façade.

"It's called…Skull Island" he finally replied with dark, forbidding voice

"Well that's comforting" Bolin said in petrified voice


	2. Faceing the Storm

Chapter Two: Facing the Storm

Nearly a week had passed since Varrick had recruited Team Avatar for his rescue mission and a part of Lin regretted going on this insane adventure. After leaving Captain Gao in command of the police department while she away, Lin joined the others at the docks were Varrick had already prepared his personal battleship, The Zhu-Li, for departure. The daughter of Toph was still a bit apprehensive about the whole, but she kept her doubts to herself. She kept her reservations about this mission this long, she figured she might as well hold it in for the rest of the trip.

Mako and Bolin had given their boss a lot of space since the battleship's departure from the Republic City harbor. The brothers, as well everyone else who knew Lin, knew that she had been in her infamous moods and she was like that, it was best to stay out of her way. Besides, the brothers were keeping themselves on the ship as it is. The former Pro-Benders were assisting the crew with tasks such as keeping the airships that Asami had brought along on this expedition trip in good condition and loading and unloading the supplies they would need to survive the rescue mission.

The crew in question consisted of soldiers from the Fire Nation, who were providing a military escort in this mission. The reason behind this was because what Varrick had failed to mention to Team Avatar was that the research team he had sent to the island were all scientists and trackers who all hailed from the country. In order to find her missing countrymen, Firelord Izumi allowed Varrick to take garrison of her troops along for the second expedition to the unknown island so they could recover the survivors and bring them back to their families safe and sound.

As for Korra, she and Asami were standing together, watching the waves go by as the ship moved toward its destination. The Avatar and the owner of Future Industries had been busy aboard the ship as well. Korra had been training and meditating both in her quarters and around the ship. The bender even sparred with her girlfriend and several of the Fire Nation soldiers from time to time. Asami would spend the day making she her airships where in tip-top shape so that when they were ready, they fly through any sort of weather that came their way. Despite the daily routines on the ship, the two lovers made time for one another each day.

While the Avatar was away, the task of helping the reformation from Earth Kingdome into the Earth Republic had been temporally placed in the hands of Tenzin and the Airbenders. Korra assured her teacher that she and others would be back as soon as possible. Granted, the Airbenders had assisting Korra since day one of the reformation of Earth Kingdome, but this would be the first time they would doing so without her help since the time of the Earth Empire. Opal had initially offered to join the expedition, but Bolin talked her out it, saying that she was needed more in changing Earth Kingdome and that he would return to her arms before she knew it.

Meanwhile Asami had placed temporary control of her company in the hands of her newly formed board of directors. They were bankers, stockbrokers and lawyers from across the Four Nations. They would watch over Future Industries and keep up business as usual until their CEO returned from the rescue mission.

"You know, it's kinda funny" Korra off-handily mentioned "We've both been incredibly busy with our own lives, and it took a rescue mission to allow us to finally spend some time together"

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me" her girlfriend admitted with a chuckle

The head of Future Industries then leaned on her lover's shoulder, making Korra blush uncontrollably. The Avatar was right about them spending time together, since they lacked that in their still growing relationship. If you were to tell Korra that she would find true love with another woman, she would've merely shrugged it off. It wasn't that she was against being in a relationship with another woman, but more that she always assumed that she was to un-womanly to be around girls. But during after Harmonic Convergence and everything that followed, the Avatar found herself becoming closer to Asami than ever before.

Asami was kind, brave and absolutely beautiful in the bender's eyes. Sometimes Korra thought that perhaps the real reason she was mad at Mako for dating her was because deep down that she wanted to be with young industrialist all this time. As for Asami herself, she also was surprised that she found happiness with a woman. In her eye's Korra was a bold yet kind soul who was slowly becoming the Avatar she was always meant to be. Whatever they would encounter on Skull Island, they would face it together.

"Excuse me, Avatar Korra" came a voice from behind me

The two women turned to see a tall, firmly-built man who was in his late-forties who had a long, narrow beard that ran down all the way down to his chest. This was Colonel Raizo, the commanding officer of the military escort that was accompanying them for the rescue mission. Raizo was one of Firelord Izumi's chief military advisors who was known best for putting down the anarchist cell, the Sons of Ozai, once and for wall. Since then, the Colonel had been battling pirates that plagued the southern seas of the Fire Nation had crushing them with deadly efficiency. Raizo was a skilled firebender and cunning strategist who was fiercely loyal to his men, who were in turn loyal to him without a doubt.

As for a person in general, Team Avatar quickly learned that Raizo was by no means a people person. While he wasn't aggressive or irritable toward anyone in particular, the old solider wasn't exactly social with anyone and always had the same, stern expression everywhere he went. Whenever either someone like Korra or Bolin attempted to try to speak with him, he would merely keep any and all conversations short before and heading off to either train or be with his men. The only time he spoke longer than three or four sentences was when he was either giving orders to his troops or speaking with Varrick on what their course of action would be once they reached the island. Bolin once made a passing joke during dinner one night in the ship's buffet room—which they had no idea was there to begin with—that they should try to get Raizo and Lin together, to which Lin overheard and promptly popped the rookie cop over the head.

"We'll be approaching our destination soon" he continued "Varrick is gathering everyone in the lower deck for a briefing"

"We'll be there" Korra assured

Raizo only had a small bow of his head before walking away. Asami only gave a small sigh in annoyance, knowing that her moment with her lover was now ruining. Hoping to get her spirits back up, Korra gave her a quick kiss on the lips to brighten her back up, to which she kissed back. Asami returned the kiss before the two headed down below deck.

* * *

Everyone gathered in a large meeting room within the battleship. Sitting on one side was Raizo and his men and on the other was Team Avatar, several crew members of the ship and Zhu-Li, who looked only slightly better than the first time the group had first seen her. ever since they had set sail, Varrick's wife had mostly confined herself to her and her husband's quarters and only came out to eat before quickly returning to her room to vomit. At this point, Asami was starting to understand what may really ailing the former assistant, but she kept her suspicions to herself for now, she wanted to be absolutely sure that she was right.

"First off, I wanna thank you all for coming on this mission" Varrick said in a serious, yet still loose tone of voice "Now then, let's begin"

He then pulled out a larger image of the map to the island and placed it on the board behind him for everyone to see.

"This is the plan" he began "Since the island is surrounded by storms, we're going punch through the south side where it appears to be its weak point. Then, we're going to head west we're ship supposedly crashed. Colonel Raizo and his men will be providing military assistance and advisement as well as defense in case something goes wrong. Avatar Korra, her friends and I will be leading search parties into the western area of the island. There will be a refueling team rendezvousing with us in three days for refueling and then we'll return home with or without any of survivors. I've killed enough people as it is already"

The way Varrick spoke and carried himself throughout the whole presentation surprised Korra and the others. No longer was the sly, smooth business standing before them, but a confident and thoughtful leader who only wanted to save the lives of those in jeopardy. His conscious had been formed when he refused to make the spirit weapon for Kuvira and his newly formed sense of morality was solidified when he married Zhu-Li.

"I'll let the Colonel take it from here" the business before stepping to allow Raizo to take the stage

"Alright everyone, once we reach the island we'll be splitting into two teams" Raizo said "Varrick's team will searching the central western territories while my team will be searching northwestern part of the island. We will remain in constant radio contact through the mission so that we can properly map out each team's positions. Any questions?"

One of Razio's soldiers then raised his hand. The Colonel nodded in acknowledgment before allowing the young man to speak.

"Are we sure that these airships can make it through that storm?" he asked

"My airships have a reinforced hull that can withstand up to a hundred-and-forty-mile an hour winds" Asami answered before Raizo could, defending her machines "It'll get a bit bumpy up there, but we'll make it through"

Once Asami finished speaking, Mako spoke up.

"Shouldn't we be concerned about whatever dangers maybe on the island?" the detective questioned

"Such as?" Raizo pondered, clearly not at all worried by whatever as on Skull Island

"Let me list off all the ways we could die" Mako furthered "rain, heat, poisonous insects, and I haven't even started on the things that might want to eat us alive"

"I can assure you, detective Mako, that my men can handle whatever's on that island" Raizo replied in a tone that sounded he was being chastised

Mako narrowed his eyes back at the fellow Firebender, who in turn did the same back at him. Korra could sense the uneasy tension building between the two men and decided to step in before things got to out of hand. However, before she could speak up, Varrick had already stood up and took control of the situation.

"Easy now, gentlemen" he advised "We're all on the same side here"

"Varrick's right" Korra added on "We'll be approaching the island soon, we should be getting ready for our departure off the ship"

Raizo and Mako continued to silently stare down one another for several more seconds before they both back down. Korra almost blew out a sigh of relief before accompanying everyone back to the upper levels, ready to prepare for the journey that was to come.

* * *

"Ok…that looks a lot worse up close" Bolin pointed out as he looked directly at the wall dark storm clouds that sat in front of the ship

The battleship had come to complete stop fifty miles away from where the island was supposed to be, but standing in their way of them was the wall of fierce storms as Varrick said there would be. Admittedly, the massive storm clouds did look imposing to even the Avatar herself, but everyone was confident that Asami's airships could make it through. Mako and Lin had already boarded an airship alongside several of Raizo's soldiers. Bolin was supposed to also be on the same airship had he not been distracted by the storm ahead of them, thus making him to share a ride with the Colonel and several of his men. The Avatar had entered an airship her girlfriend was personally flying that was also carrying several other Fire Nation soldiers. Just as Varrick was about to board his airship, he saw his wife making her way toward him, and she did not look pleased with him once bit.

"You're not leaving me behind" she firmly stated before her husband could speak first

"Honey, you're sick as an otter-dog" Varrick pointed out "there's no way I'm letting on an island where you could die!"

"I'll be fine" Zhu-Li reasoned "If I can carry you for ten miles with a broken ankle, then this would be a walk in the park"

"Yeah, but this is different" her boss turned husband reasoned gently as he touched the side of her face " _ **we're**_ different"

"It'll be fine, Iknik" his wife assured, using his first name "with our luck, I probably won't even have to get off the airship"

At this point, Varrick knew that it would pointless to continue this argument. Besides, his wife had proven time and time again that she was more than capable of taking care of herself on more than one occasion. Without another word spoken, Zhu-Li proceed to make her way toward the airships. While he would've preferred for his wife to ride alongside him, the airship Varrick was to be seated on was full of Fire Nation soldiers. Zhu-Li instead boarded the airship that contained Korra and Asami, giving the millionaire some comfort before boarding his airship as well.

"Everyone set?" Asami asked the other airships over the radio

"We're strapped in and ready to go on your mark, Ms. Sato" one of the other pilots confirmed

"Then let's go" the head of Future Industries ordered "Initiate take off sequence"

Bolin said a small prayer as the airships engines ignited as the turbines began to lift the crafts into the air. There were a total twelve airships that took off from the battleship and all of them headed straight for massive storm that stood between them and Skull Island. It wasn't just Bolin who was silently wishing to make through to the other side, but several of the soldiers as well—even Lin had some inner doubts about Asami's claim that her airships could make it through. Korra on the other hand, had the upmost confidence in her girlfriend. She knew that Asami built her machines to be absolutely efficient and triple-checked ever Satomoblie, plane and airship for any hint of the smallest flaw before giving the ok.

As the airships flew straight into the storms clouds, they began to rock violently mere seconds into their voyage into them. Bolin, who had forgotten to fasten his seatbelt, bounced out of his seat and into the ceiling before landing on some of the soldiers, who promptly shoved him off themselves and onto the ground where proceed to fumble around on the floor of the airship until he finally managed to get back into his seat and put on his seatbelt.

Meanwhile, Mako and Lin remained perfectly still in their seats, only bouncing slightly in their seats. With the detective and his chief, neither were still fully convinced that anyone was fully prepared for what was in store for them on the island. No one knew what the terrain or weather would be like on Skull Island, or if there were any hostile inhabitants on it. Mako also had a sneaking suspicion that Raizo was a bit over confident in his troops and underestimated whatever dangers there may be on the island. Mako may have been a bit paranoid, but he had a gut feeling that something was wrong, and when he had a gut feeling about these sort of situations, they were more than often right.

The airships shook more and more as they pressed deeper into the storm. From the windows, everyone could see lighting streak across the sky as the rain continued to pelt the airships. The winds blew furiously, causing some of the airships to tilt a bit, but they still remained in a tight formation and on course. As the rage of the storm grew stronger and stronger outside, everyone could only guess—or better put, hope—that they were approaching their destination.

"We're gonna die!" Bolin exclaimed in terror

Suddenly, as quickly they had entered the storm, the airships flew out of the storm and into a blinding light. While Bolin and a few others at first assumed they had crashed, it was in fact the opposite. It was the sunlight, that shine down on them and the island that the rescue party was now suddenly looking down upon. Both the soldiers and Team Avatar where in a state of awe at the sight before them. despite some of their doubts, they had actually reached the fabled Skull Island that Varrick had told them of. While it was a breath taking sight, the men and women aboard the airships knew they had a job to do and were ready to carry it out, hoping that this would be an easy in and out assignment.

However, several miles away from the were the airships had entered the island, something heard the sound their engines and instantly knew that they were intruders to its home. More than that, the sound those airships were making would no doubt attach the attraction of the horrors lived below the island. The king of island knew that if was to stop the devils from coming out from under the earth, he would have to put an end to these intruders.


	3. Kong

Chapter Three: Kong

"Wow…" Korra breathed out in amazement as she looked out over island's landscape

For an uncharted island that was surrounded by a never-ending storm system, the Avatar had to admit that it was a beautiful sight to lay eyes upon. As one would excepted with a place such as this, it appeared to be untouched by man. The island was mostly covered in what looked like large, dense jungle, thought it was clear that they're some opens plains from what Korra and the others could see. Despite the beauty that laid before them, Team Avatar and the Fire Nation troops knew that somewhere down there were the survivors from the missing ship.

"all air ships, this is fire-ferret-three, there looks like an open space up ahead, but only enough room for one airship" one of pilots mentioned over the radio "should we land, over?"

"You have clearance to land, fire-ferret-three" Varrick answered over the radio "you'll be our scouting party in this sector, over"

"Copy that fire leader, we are preparing to land, over and out" the pilot acknowledged

As the one of the airships pulled away from the squadron to land, Korra began to feel a sense of uneasiness rise within her. It was as if a tiny voice in the back of her head was trying to warn her of the unforeseen dangers this island had hidden within it. the Avatar shook off her hidden fears and doubts, for she had come to rescue the lost crewmen who were trapped here no matter what. The rising sense of dread hung over her like a hangman's noose, only to be distracted when she heard the sound of Zhu-Li vomiting into a bag. While most of soldiers that were sitting alongside her scooted away from her in their seats, Korra unfastened her seatbelt and made her way over to the ailing woman.

"Are you ok?" she asked in concern

"N-Never better" Zhu-Li tried to assure her before vomiting into the bag again

"I really wish you didn't come along on this trip" Korra said truthfully "I know your loyal to Varrick as both his assistant and his wife, but you're only going to make yourself worse"

"I'm well aware of the risks, Korra" the millionaire's wife firmly yet still weak tone of voice "But I refuse to leave Varrick's side"

"There's more to this, isn't here?" the bender theorized "You aren't just sick, aren't you?"

Before Zhu-Li could speak further, everyone heard a scream of horror from Asami and spun around to see something flying toward them at great speed. Much to the shock of everyone, the object that was hurtling toward them was a tree that had somehow been uprooted from the ground and was now being flung toward the airship. Acting quickly, Asami made a hard turn to the left in order to try to avoid the oncoming tree. Sadly however, due to the airships massive ship and lack of speed, the tree slammed into the side of the aircraft. The force of the impact, knocked Korra off her feet and sent her flying backwards into the wall, knocking her out cold upon hitting it. Distracted by the sight of Korra's injury, Asami nearly forgot that she and everyone else was caught in a death spiral downward toward the jungle below them.

The rest of the airship squadron watched in horror as the airship that contained the Avatar, the head of Future Industries and Varrick's wife crash into the island's dense jungle after being struck by a tree of all things. The radios of from the remaining airships became alive with a frenzied web of panicked chatter as they either attempted to contact the downed aircraft or ask one another if anyone saw who or what had taken down the airship in the first place. Despite the mass hysteria the crews of each airships were in, Mako, Bolin, Lin and Varrick were in a state of total shock as they helplessly looked down at the wreckage of the downed airship. For the two detectives and the police chief, they had just witnessed the possible death of their closest friends right before their eyes. As for Varrick, not only had he witnessed the demise of two friends, but also the death of his wife.

Nothing in his life felt as painful to Varrick then the thought of losing the woman he loved. As he looked down at the crash site below him, all the millionaire could think about was the image of Zhu-Li lying dead in a broken and bloody heap in a tomb of fire and twisted metal. As tears run down his face as he began to weep, the memoirs of his beloved wife flashed through his mind. He thought back to when she was his assistant and about all the times he yelled at her, scolded her and criticized her when all she did, she did for him.

His mind then began to drift back to the day when they first met. He was only twenty-two and just starting his then fledging business when he first saw in a cage fight in the Fire Nation. He was in the crowd where he witnessed the woman who would one day be his wife beat another girl senseless and declared the victory. After the match, Varrick asked her if she wished to get away from this life of violence and work for him as both his personal bodyguard and his personal assistant. Enamored by his genius, she agreed and from then on, she remained by his side through thick and thin. Zhu-li never abandoned, and he'd be damned if he didn't do the same for her.

"Take us down there!" he commanded the pilot

"I'm sorry sir, but the jungle is to dense to land" the pilot replied

"I don't give a damn! We're landing there!" Varrick proclaimed in rage "That's an order!"

"You don't give me orders!" the pilot shot back

"Now you listen to me— "Varrick attempted to argue

"What the hell is that?!" the voice of one other pilots exclaimed in sheer terror over the radio

Everyone immediately stopped what there were doing and looked out the window to see something that sent a collective chill of terror run down everyone's spine. There standing just over the horizon, was a massive creature. The beast had all the features of a large ape that was standing upright before the squadron of airships. Its hair was dark brown and was covered in with scars from other creatures it had slain. Its eyes blazed with fury that made the intruders to its island shake in fear. The monster then bared its massive fangs before letting out a savage roar and charged at the airships at full speed.

In a wild mass of panic, the airships began to break away from they're formation as they began to scatter across through the air. The beast pulled back a fist before and punching one of the airships to the ground, causing it to explode upon impact. Acting quickly, the giant ape swatted another nearby airship out of the sky with a strong backhand. The monster roared to signify its hatred toward the intruders, as if it was telling the humans that they were not welcome here, nor were they going to survive. From the confines of their respective airships, Mako and the others were in a total state of awe at the sight of the titanic beast that had just laid waste to three of their airships in under two minutes, one of which that contained their friends.

Mako, Bolin nor Lin knew how this monster came into being, but as they looked on at the destruction it had caused, they couldn't help but think: did Varrick know that this monster was here? Before they could go into deeper thought, they watched as the giant ape reach out and took hold of another airship before it flung downward toward the first airship that had landed, killing both parties in the process.

"Take that thing down!" Raizo shouted into the radio

"How? We don't have any weapons!" one of the pilots over the radio pointed out

"Oh, yes we do!" the colonel corrected "We're the weapons!"

With that, Raizo, along with several of the other firebenders including Mako, opened the doors to their respective airships while they were still in the air and proceed to unleash blasts of intense flames at the monster, making it yowl in a mix of pain of surprise from the attack. Meanwhile inside their separate airships, Lin and Bolin were unable to assist the others in their assault on the creature that had declared war on them. Neither earthbender were close enough to provide assistance with neither rocks or lava and Lin didn't have metal she could bend without wrecking the airship she was in. They could watch and pray that Mako and the firebenders could bring down the monster and that their friends were still alive.

The ape snarled in pain as the flames from the airship's occupants continued to be thrown at him. The monster put its arms over its face in order to shield it from being struck by the fire that continued to strike him. The monster then noticed that one of the airship was flying close to him and an idea came through his mind. Acting quickly, the ape balled up his fist and swung it at the craft, punching it into another airship and crashing both to explode upon their collision. Before any of the airships could move out of the monster's path, it lunged at another aircraft before leaping in the air with its fists held high and smashing it into the ground.

As Raizo watched as the monster destroy another airship, all he could think about was loss of his men with every airship the creature brought down in its rampage. He had fought and bleed alongside these men in their fight against pirates and the Sons of Ozai for years, and now he was forced to watched his men die at the hands of a creature that no one thought possible of existing. The Colonel could hear the agonizing screams of the soldiers who served under his command as they either died from the blows of the monster or slowly perish in the burning wreckage of the airships that they were now trapped in. As the rage boiling in his very soul, he took aim at the hulking giant as it was distracted with downing another airship. With everything he had, Raizo unleashed a strong stream of lighting that slashed across the beast's arm, making it cry out in pain.

Filled with fury, the ape turned his head at where the bolt had originated from and locked eyes with Raizo. The monster growled as it bared its fang at him, all the while glaring with at the one who had harmed it. With a feral roar, the giant ape charged at the Colonel's ship with the full intention of destroying it. Bolin, who was on the same ship as the Colonel, watched in horror as the monster rushed toward them. Moving quickly, the earthbender ran over to the Colonel and pulled him away from the open door to the airship and as far back inside the aircraft as he could bring him, all the while Raizo fought against to make him let go.

Suddenly, the monster took hold of the airship and brought it close to his face, trying to find the one responsible for harming him. At that moment, Raizo managed to break free from Bolin's grasp and throw a blast of fire that streaked across the ape's cheek, burning its thick skin as it did. in fit of rage, the monster flung the airship to the ground. The mighty ape looked down at the now smashed machine and the people who had harmed him before beating his chest and letting a roar in victory.

Mako cried out in a mix of horror and sadness at the sight of the airship that held his brother crashing to the ground below. He had just witnessed the death of his only sibling that he sacrificed for time and again. From joining the triads to joining the Probending League, it was all to provide for and protect Bolin, and just like that, a massive behemoth just struck down his sibling for no other reason than to sate its murderous bloodlust. Mako's own bloodlust was beginning to spread this body like a flood of hate as he readied himself to launch a volley of lighting at the brutish creature that had taken his brother away from him. with all of his anger and focus, Mako unleash the most powerful lightning bolt he had ever conjured at the monster. However, just as it was about the to strike the beast in the back, his target suddenly leapt out of the way of the bolt electric energy and let it hit a hillside instead. The giant ape turn toward Mako's airship and bellow at it, indicating that they were next.

"Mako, get back!" Lin called out

But Mako was still filled with so much anger toward the monster that had killed his younger sibling just moments, so much so that he didn't even register what his chief had said to him. he was already channeling his bending for another lightning bolt as the beast turned its full attention toward them. however, instead of destroying the airships with his bare hands, the ape instead reached down and picked up a huge bolder in its hand. The hulking giant hurled the bolder at his target. Knowing that her officer wasn't going to listen to reason, Lin reached out with her metal line and yanked the young firebender backwards until he was next to her. The police chief then metalbent the wall behind then to act as a reinforced seatbelt so they would be able to survive the crash, assuming that the bolder that was about to hit them didn't cause the whole airship to explode. As Lin attempted to do the same for the Fire Nation soldiers that they riding alongside, but the bolder that had been thrown at them suddenly struck the rudder of the airship, causing it to spiral out of control as it began to plummet downward into to the jungle below them.

As airship after airship continued to fall out of the sky, Varrick could only watch as his friends and the men he had been tasked to work alongside him in this expedition continue to seemingly die left and right in front of him. but above it all, none that pain compared to the agony he felt of losing his wife. He may as well have been the one who murdered her as well as everyone else who had agreed to join him on this search for the people he had also trapped on this godforsaken island because of his curiosity and greed. Perhaps this monster had been sent by some higher power to punish him for his pride. Varrick looked on as the massive beast brought down another airship by flinging it into another, causing them both to explode. The only one left in the was the one Varrick was in, and the creature knew it. With a powerful roar, the ape lunged at the final airship and tried to take hold of it, however, as it tried to grab onto the blades of airships turbines, the giant ape instantly reeled back in pain as the blades cut into its hand, letting out a yowl to signify that had been harmed as it did.

However, the damage had been done to the aircraft. The turbine that the monster had grabbed was crushed in the process and causing the airship to begin to rapidly fall out of the sky and downward toward the island. As everyone within the falling airship shouted, screamed and prayed, Varrick only closed his eyes and let out a calming breath as he let his body become loose, waiting to hit the ground so that he may be reunited with his beloved Zhu-Li.

* * *

The sounds of the strange machines had made the devils begin to stir from they're underground caverns. It was sound that made them not only curious, but hungry as well. Encouraged by the strange sounds of the machines, several of the devils then arose from their dark dwellings and began to spread throughout the island like the plague they were known and feared to be. Meanwhile, deep with the hollow earth of Skull Island, the mightiest of the demons still slept. However, not since it had slain the parents of its old enemy had it begun to stir from its long slumber. It knew that something foreign had come to its hunting grounds and that it had somehow angered its adversary. But there something about these intruders that made the titanic beast feel a certain familiarity toward them, namely one in particular who was among the strangers to the island.

The demon had not felt this presence since a time long since passed. Not since the days when the apes roamed the island in great numbers had this power been by the creature. Its mind focused on someone it encountered long ago who fought alongside the apes to quell its kind from being the ruling species on the island and cast them deep into the earth below. The demon was certain that the person it had detected was none other than the being its kind despised as much as the god of the island: The Avatar.

The demon let out a low hiss in detest at the thought of the Avatar returning to Skull Island, but it was certain at this point that that was the case. Had it had the strength to move, it would gladly dispatch the accused being along with the young god for its past transgressions toward it and its kind. But it lacked the energy to do so, and as long as the hollow earth surrounded it in its prison, it could not have its revenge. For no, the demon could only sit and wait, and with its children spreading across the island, it would only a matter of time until it claimed the revenge it had been waiting so long for.


	4. Separated

Chapter Four: Separated

The first thing Korra saw when she opened her eyes was Asami looking back down with fear and concern in her eyes before letting out a sigh in relief that her lover was still alive. From what Korra could see, her girlfriend was covered in dirt and smoke, as well as had a few cuts and bruises along her torn attire. It was at that moment that the Avatar's body registered the pain she was in. She hadn't this beaten up since her battles with the likes of Vaatu, Zaheer and Kuvira. She took a moment to get a small understanding of her new surroundings by moving her head from side to side so that she could get at some bearings.

No longer were they in the airship, but instead on the ground within the island's dense jungle. The airship they had had arrived in had turned into a twist pile of twisted, burning metal with a large tree that had been impaled into of the side of it. Like a flood that had been freed from a dam, the recent memories of the attack came rushing through the Avatar's already hurting head. She remembered seeing a tree hurtling toward the airship before careening out of control as it spiraled down to the island below them.

Korra was still in a state of confusion over everything that had transpired. Who or what could've had the power to throw such a huge tree like a missile? Was it possible that there were benders on the island? That was only explanation she could fathom that would make sense to her, but then again in her experiences, she had learned to expect the unexpected. Groaning in pain, Korra pulled her upper body upwards so she was at least sitting up so that she could face Asami. She clutched her head that was throbbing with what felt like the mother of all headaches, only to feel cloth instead of her own skin.

"You had a pretty bad cut on your head when the soldiers pulled you out of the wreckage" her lover explained "you've also got a few cuts and bruises, but other than that, you're ok"

"Urgh, I feel like I just went another round with Kuvira" the Avatar groaned out "Are you ok, Asami?"

It was then that Korra noticed that the young industrialist left arm was in a sling. As her blue eyes widened in shock, Asami quickly spoke up.

"It's just a sprained wrist" she assured her "I got off lucky, but my co-pilot…"

Korra followed Asami's eyes as they trailed over to where several bodies that had been covered by either spare blankets or tarps were currently laid. It was the bodies of the co-pilot and five of the eight Fire Nation soldiers who were also onboard the airship. Standing over the bodies were the remaining three soldiers, who were currently saying a prayer for their fallen comrades in the ancient prayers of the Fire Nation's religion. It was then that the Avatar noticed that not too far away from where the bodies had been placed was the unconscious form of Zhu-Li. Like Korra, the former assistant had received a headwound from the crash, but unlike her, she hadn't woken up yet.

Korra was about to ask how exactly a tree was uprooted and thrown at them when the group heard a booming roar not far from them. Fighting through the pain and dizziness, the Avatar forced herself to stand and quickly moved out in front of a small clearing in their crash site so that she could where the sound had come from, all the while the rest of the group followed behind her. To their shock, they saw the monster that had decimated the airship squadron only moments ago, beating its chest and roaring into the sky in victory over the group. Despite all the fantastic sights they had seen in their past adventures, both Korra and Asami were still in total awe of the creature they gazed upon.

Aside from feeling a mixed sense of awe and dread, Korra felt something else as she continued to look at the beast: familiarity. As she watched the giant ape finally lumber away from the battlefield, she could almost feel as though she and the beast had crossed paths in the past. Perhaps it one of her past lives trying to warn her of the creature's ferocity, but with her connection to them permanently severed, she couldn't say for sure.

What was most distressing about the sight before them was the fact that the monster had destroyed the other airships, leaving everyone to wonder anyone else had survived the creature's rampage. The thought of losing Mako and the others frightened the two women to no end and could only pray that they to made it out of the surprise attack in one piece.

Just as the giant beast slowly strode out of view, Zhu-Li had woken up. Everyone turned to see Varrick's wife stagger to her feet, checking herself over as she did, most notably her stomach. Suddenly, one of the soldiers stormed over to Zhu-Li before grabbing her by the throat and pinning her against a nearby tree. He then conjured a fire dagger with his free hand and held it close to her face.

"You knew that thing was out here, didn't you?!" he accused "I swear I'm gonna— "

The firebender's words were cut short when a huge gust of wind yanked him off of Zhu-Li's person and flung him into the dirt. He looked up to see Korra standing over him, levitating a chuck of earth over his head as she did. The other two firenders were about to jump in, but Asami stood in their path and had taken a fighting stance. For what felt like ages, there was a tense silence between the two parties, each waiting for the other to make the first move. It was then that Korra slowly put the chuck of earth down before holding out her hand to the fallen solider, who hesitantly reached up and took to allow her to pull him back up. Seeing the gesture of peace from the Avatar made both Asami and the other soldiers stood down as well.

"We can't turn on each other now" Korra declared "right now we need to focus on finding any other survivors"

"And do you propose we do that?" one of the other two soldiers asked sharply, trying to hide his fears "the radio was busted in the crash!"

"Then we'll head toward the rendezvous point" Korra answered "If anyone else survived they would be doing the same thing"

"What if we run into that…thing, again?" the third firebender questioned

"With any luck, it'll think it killed us all and will leave us alone" the Avatar surmised "I'm more worried about what else might be on this island"

"I'll see what I can salvage from the wreckage" Asami said before heading over to the downed airship

The trio of Fire Nations soldiers followed the young industrialist over to the crash site and began to assist her in gathering up any supplies that they could use for their long trek through the unknown jungle. While they did that, Korra went up to Zhu-Li to make sure she was alright.

"You ok?" she inquired

"I'm fine" Zhu-Li answered "Thank you for saving me"

"No problem" the Avatar assured her "I'm just glad we all didn't end up killing each other"

There was a part of Korra that wanted to ask the former assistant if she really did know that the monster that had just laid waste to them lived on this island, but she thought against it, considering that she had already gone through more than enough as it was. After a half hour of sifting through the wreckage, Asami and the firebenders gathered up enough supplies for their journey. After saying one last pray for the ones who could not travel with them, the group headed out into the jungle, all the while hoping that their friends and comrades had managed to make it out alive as well.

* * *

The first thing that made Mako realize that he wasn't dead, was the sharp pain in his side. The young detective let out a sharp hiss in agony as his vision returned to him. For a brief moment, Mako thought that everything that had just transpired was all some wild and fantastic dream, that was until he saw the mangled corpses of the other airship passengers strewn about like bloody rage dolls before him. The horrific scene instantly reminded the firebender what had happened and what had attacked them. as his mind raced for thousands of questions, another pang of white-hot pain quickly reminded him that he was still injured. However, he was still immobile due to Lin's last-minute attempt to save their lives, so he couldn't see what had harmed him.

"Mako, you still with me?" came the chief's voice

Mako looked up to see his boss standing before him. By the looks of it, she had regained consciousness first and had unfastened herself from the metal she had put around herself to save her from the crash. She was relativity fine for the most part—save for a small cut over her left eyebrow and few bruises—but other than that, she was fine. No doubt her armor had sparred her from any major injuries. The same, of course, could not be said for Mako at the moment.

"Thank the spirits you're still breathing, kid" she said, relieved

"Nice to know you care, chief" Mako half-joked before wincing in pain when he tried to laugh

The metalbender then glanced around the corpse filled airship with shame written all over her face.

"I just wish I had more time to save the rest…" she grumbled under her breath

Mako suddenly let out another hiss of pain that immediately snapped the police chief back into reality. Lin looked down toward her officer's torso and saw a sharp of metal from the airship sticking out of the side of Mako's torn shirt which was now surrounded by a large patch of dark red blood. Lin knew that if she was to save the young man's life, she would have to act fast.

"Hang on kid this is gonna suck" she informed him "and I mean _**really**_ suck"

Mako mentally braced himself for what was to come next as Lin took a bending stance. With one swift motion, Lin yanked the metal shard out of the detective's body through her bending before tossing it aside. Mako let out a cry of agony as the metal was pulled away from his person. Lin quickly metalbent the rest of the metal off his person, tossing him to collapse into her arms. Keeping his mind focused, Mako conjured up a small flame in the palm of his hand before putting it on his still bleeding wound, instantly cauterizing it. The heat from his fire upon his fresh injury nearly made him scream in pain once more. Once the wound was sealed up, Lin helped the young officer to his feet. She then helped Mako out of the wrecked airship and into the jungle before laying him up against a nearby rock.

"I think I saw a first aid kit back in there" Lin said "wait here, I'll go find it"

"It's not like I'm going anywhere" Mako muttered

Lin then returned to the downed airship, giving time for Mako to reflect on what had just happened. Considered all the things he had seen in his life as the Avatar's friend, a giant ape wasn't the strangest thing he had encountered, but it did have a lasting impact on him. he remembered seeing the airships that held his brother and his friends crash into the island and the rage he felt when he did battle with the monster that had possibly murdered his brother. However, he held some semblance of hope that Bolin had managed to survive the carnage as he and Lin had.

Just then, Lin returned with a first aid kit in one hand and a radio in the other. For the metalbender, she was against this whole venture from day one and that giant ape that smashed them out of the sky had proved her fears to be true. But this was no time to say 'I told you so' this was a time for trying to find the others and getting off this island.

"The radio still works" she told Mako "I haven't been able to get in contact with anyone though"

"Here, let me try" he offered

"First, take off your shirt" she ordered

Her subordinate gave her a confused look in response to that request.

"So I can patch up your wound, you moron" she explained further in a sharp tone

"Oh, right" Mako realized in embarrassment

As instructed, Mako removed his shirt and allowed his boss to begin to wrap several strips of bandages around his wound. While Lin was busy doing that, Mako was busy with trying to find the right radio frequency to contact any other survivors. Mako didn't want to get his hopes up. He knew that the odds that Bolin and the other's chances of survival were slim at best, so he tried his best not to get to excited.

"This is fire-ferret five to all channels, mayday, mayday, can anyone copy?" he called out into the radio "is anyone out there"

"This fire-ferret two, we hear you fire ferret five" Raizo's voice answered among the radio static "how many survivors do you have?"

"Lin and I were the only ones who made it out alive" the detective replied before asking "is my brother ok?"

"Mako!" Bolin's voice shouted over the radio "Oh thank the spirits your alive!"

A wave of relief rushed over Mako as he heard the voice of his younger siblings. He to thanked the spirits for keeping Bolin safe from harm. However, there was still the matter of Korra and Asami's safety that still worried him.

"Have you guys heard from Korra and Asami's airships?" he inquired

There was a rustling sound on the other end of the radio. Obviously in his moment of excitement, Bolin must have snatched the radio from Raizo's hand so that he could talk with him.

"Negative" the colonel's voice said "so far, we've only heard from you and Varrick's airship. What's your location?"

"I think we crashed somewhere in western area" Mako determined "I can't give you a best guess as to where exactly though"

"We landed in the northeastern region of the island, we'll come to you after we met up with the others" Raizo told him "fire ferret two out"

With that, the radio went silent on Raizo and Bolin's end. At the same time, Lin had just finished dressing Mako's wound before tossing his shirt back to him from him to put back on.

"You might want to take it slow" the chief advised him as he stood

"I don't think we have that luxury out here, chief" Mako replied before posing a question "you think we should wait here for Raizo and the others?"

Before Lin could answer him, a loud shriek from a nearby animal could be heard off in the distance, it was then followed by a snarl from a much large creature. The two cops could hear the dying yelps and squeals from the first animal before it was then followed by sounds of flesh and bone being consumed.

"That answer your question?" she deadpanned

Mako nodded in agreement. After gathering up what little supplies that weren't destroyed from the crash, the two officers of the law set off into the jungle, hoping to find Bolin and Raizo's group before something else found them first.

* * *

Despite the pain in his left shoulder that he had received from the crash, Bolin felt a sense of relief within him. hearing the sound of his elder brother's voice made him feel invigorated. Sadly however, the same could not be said for Raizo and his men. When their airship went down, only the Colonel and four of his troops survived, all of them wounded in some way or another. It also didn't help that the airship only had one first aid kit within it. Raizo had only suffered a few cuts and bruises from the fall and allowed his surviving men to divide the limited medical supplies among them while he buried those who did not survive.

The group had landed in a large marshy area that had for the most part saved most of the people inside of it. it wasn't before long that one of Raizo's men, Gao, had manage to salvage the radio and had quickly began to try to reach out to anyone else who had hopefully lived through the attack from the giant ape. Aside from Mako and Lin, they had managed to get in contact with survivors from Varrick's airship, and luckily it wasn't too far from where they were now. After saying a few prayers for their departed comrades, the Colonel lead his group toward their ally's location.

It took them a mile and a half of walking through the mud and marsh to reach them, but thankfully they found the other team. By the looks of it, most of the passengers aboard Varrick's airship had survived the crash—save for the two pilots. No sooner had the other Fire Nation soldiers spotted them did they run over to their brothers in arms and embraced them all in a tight embrace. Bolin couldn't help but smile for Raizo and his troops. They had all taken a collective devastatingly large hit and to see anyone alive was nothing sort of a miracle. The young earthbender could only hope that Korra, Asami and Zhu-Li were still alive somewhere out on the island.

"Good to see you still in one piece, sir" one of the firebenders commented with a salute "how many made it?"

"Only six for us, but we've found out that Mako and Lin are still alive as well" he informed them before asking "what about you?"

"We lost the pilots, but the rest of us are ok" the soldier answered

"Where's Varrick?" Bolin questioned

The soldier pointed over to a nearby small hill where they saw the millionaire sitting on a log in front of a fire. From what they could see, Varrick had several bandages wrapped around his right hand. Bolin and Raizo then walked up to the hill so they could personally speak with the man who had brought them hear. Wasting no time at all, the Colonel yanked the genius to his feet and summoned a ball of flames and held it close to Varrick's face. Bolin didn't try to stop Raizo immediately, but stood at the ready in case the firebender did try to harm his friend. In truth, the rookie cop was also furious with the millionaire and wanted some answers. Not only that, but because of possibly knowing that this creature roamed the island and didn't bother to tell them, he may have also gotten Korra, Asami and even his own wife with killed in the process.

"You are going to tell me everything right now, or I swear I'm going to burn a hole right through you!" Raizo threatened "Did you know that thing was out here?"

Varrick didn't answer right away. Instead, he looked down at the ground with a solid look of guilt on his face.

"When I got this map, I had heard legends about this so-called 'god of Skull Island'" he began "I didn't think much of them, but the idea of finding the island was enticing regardless, and if there was a giant monster living here I wanted to get a shot of it for my movers"

"So, that's why you sent the first team in" Bolin gathered "You weren't looking for new resources—you just wanted to capture that monster!"

"What? Hell No! I didn't wanna capture the damn thing!" Varrick corrected "what if it broke loose in Republic City? I'd be ruined! I just wanted to film it if it actually existed! I really did send that research team here to look for new resources—filming the monster was optional!"

In a fit of rage, the Colonel extinguished the fire in his hand so that he delivered a powerful punch across Varrick's jaw that sent he collapsing to the ground.

"My men are dead because of you!" Raizo exclaimed in rage

"And my wife is dead along with them!" Varrick shot back up at him "you think I don't care about that?!"

Raizo glared down at the man with hate and disgust in his eyes. His fists were clenched and were heating up, ready to ignite flames from them. Bolin stood ready jump in at any second, knowing that he may not be a match for the seasoned firebender. After a few tense seconds in their silent standoff, Raizo let a snort in disgust before turning and storming back to his remaining men. Bolin walked over to Varrick and helped him back to his feet. Despite also feeling angry toward him, he was still his friend regardless. However, there was still one question that burned in the rookie cops mind that needed to be answered"

"There's more to it, isn't there?" Bolin surmised "You knew that thing was here and wanted to film it. But I know you Varrick, You wouldn't do all of this on just a hunch. There had to had been something that made you want to come here if you thought you could film a monster"

Varrick let out a shameful sigh before speaking.

"When I was sixteen years old, I worked as a shipmate on a shipping vessel called the Bingo-Maru" he began in a slow, almost hollow voice "one day, we ran into a typhoon. The ship was badly damaged during the storm and we were forced to abandon ship. But it wasn't the typhoon sank the ship, it was something…else"

Bolin remained quiet as he listened carefully to Varrick's story.

"I couldn't get a good look at it because of the storm, but it wasn't like a sea serpent like the Unagi, it was something a lot bigger and more powerful. It was like a god" the millionaire continued "a hundred and thirty-three men went into the water that night, but only twenty of us got out. Two days later we were rescued by a fishing boat that was passing through. When we filed our reports for the company, we told them that the storm sank the ship and killed the rest of the crew, but I knew the truth, it was something monstrous"

Varrick's story was almost unbelievable to say the least, but considering that Bolin had encountered the living embodiment of darkness itself and had fought a giant mecha-suit, it was possible for him to believe that such a monster could exist.

"When I heard about the legends of Skull island, it reminded me of the sinking of the Bingo-Maru" he furthered "I wanted to show the world that monsters exist"

Tears then began to run down the man's face as continued to speak.

"But I swear I never meant for this to happen!" he wept "I've killed us all! I killed Zhu-Li!"

"you don't know that" Bolin said, trying to sooth him "Zhu-Li may still be alive. She may be heading to the rendezvous point right now with Korra and Asami. We'll meet up with Mako and Lin then we'll find the others"

Suddenly, a load roar cut through the open space around them. It wasn't like the roar of the ape, but higher-pitched and shrill. The very sound of it made even the Fire Nation troop's skin crawl in fear.

"Assuming of course we live long enough to find them" Bolin sheepishly added


	5. The Serpent's Coils

Chapter Five: The Serpent's Coils

Despite feeling a swell of relief and victory rising within him, Kong knew that his task was not complete. While he had dealt with the outsiders, the damage was already done. He knew that due to noise that the intruder's strange metal birds, they had no doubt awoken the devil's that dwelled below his island. He knew he would have to hunt down the ones who had crawled up from their dark domain before they had a chance to spread across home like they were, but first he needed to tend to his injuries. Kong may have triumphed over the outsiders, but that did not mean that he walked away from his victory without any injurie.

The fire that the strangers threw from their hands had burned Kong along his arms and torso, but not enough to do any permeant damage to his body. There was, however, another wound he had received on his hand that proved to be quite painful. When he had attempted to grab onto one of the metal birds, the bird's bladed wings cut deep into the giant ape's hand, causing him great pain in the process. With his enemies defeated, Kong traveled back into the depths of the jungle so that he would ready to track the demons from below should they come up from the ground to challenge him.

However, the king of Skull Island's battle with the outsiders had tired him, thus making him go search of fresh water and possible food. As Kong lumbered further into his home, he kept his senses on alert in case he came across not just one of demons, but some other dangerous inhabitant on the island as well. While Kong was the sworn protector and king of the island, that didn't quite exactly mean that his 'subjects' enjoyed his rule. The giant ape had to be on constant guard, for he knew that if he slipped once, that would be the death of him.

Soon enough, Kong came across a large river. After checking to make sure that the surrounding area was free of any potential threats, the giant beast knelt beside it before dipping his hand into the river to scoop up massive handfuls of water for him to drink. As he drank from river, Kong's mind began to wander back to the intruders. Their ability to conjure the element of fire made him start to remember days long since gone. Ages before he was last of his kind, Kong faintly remembered his days as a child, playing with other young ones and being loved by his parents. Even though he could not remember everything about his youth, what the ape could remember gave him pleasant dreams.

Kong faintly recalled a day when a strange human woman traveled to his island, riding upon a strange creature with no wings. The human herself was also peculiar to young Kong and his kind. Unlike the humans that Kong's race defended, this human could bend the four elements to her will. At first Kong's parents and the rest of his kind were confused and frightened by the power the woman wielded, but she quickly assured the apes that she came in peace. She was called the Avatar and claimed to have been called to their island by some mystical force. The Avatar's words rang true when the devil's rose up from the ground beneath them in a horde lead by the father of the demons leading them.

With Kong's parents and the Avatar leading the charge, the apes did battle with the demons. Kong may not have a lot of happy memories of his childhood, but sadly, he had plenty of memoirs of the war his kind waged against the demons. The Avatar's powers proved useful in the conflict against the dwellers in the dark, but sadly, it could stop the others of his race from dying. In the final days of the war for Skull Island, Kong's parents and Avatar were all that stood in way of the great devil and his spawn. With everything they had, the trio managed to seal the father of the demons deep in within the earth. While the island was saved, it came at a high price. In the end, only a now orphan Kong was all that remained among the corpses of his fallen species. The Avatar gave her condolences before departing from the island, never to be seen again.

As the years rolled on, Kong sometimes thought about the strange woman and her powers. Where other humans that could that, or was she the only one of her kind like him? it was safe to say that Kong got his answer today in more ways than one. Not only did the humans from the beyond the island had power similar to the woman, but they were drastically different from her as well. while she came in good faith, these intruders came only to make war on Kong's home. He had managed to defeat them this time, but what if they came again in greater numbers? could he still fight them off? He wasn't sure, and that disturbed the young king to no end.

Suddenly, the giant ape caught a glimpse of something in the river. It was a shadow, and a long one at that. Kong knew that even as something as simple as taking a drink could easily be a death sentence on the island. There were creatures that made their home under the surface of water and sprang out on their unsuspecting prey. Seeing that his potential attacker still thought that it had the element of surprise on its side, Kong acted quickly and plunged his hands into the water yanked the predator out of the river. It was a massive python, one of the deadliest hunters on Skull Island. They could grow longer then Kong's height, and judging by the length of one the ape was pulling out of the river, it was roughly equal to his size.

Knowing that its ambush on the giant ape was ruined, the python went into attack mode and lunged at Kong's throat with its fangs at the ready. Kong managed to bat away the python's oncoming jaws with a strong backhand before getting back on his feet, but the giant serpent quickly recoiled from the hit and struck again. This time the giant snake lashed out and bit down into his right arm, making the young king let out a cry of pain as the python's fangs dug deep into his flesh. As Kong struggled to get the serpent off his arm, the rest of the snake's body began to wrap around his body and tighten in a vise-grip.

Kong tried his best to keep his footing as he continued to repeatedly punch the python's head in an attempt to force the massive reptile to let go of him. Sadly however, the young king's attacks on the serpent only made its hold on him even tighter with each passing second. Every breath that Kong took became shorter and harder as he felt the python's body constricting around him. Just then, the ape's legs gave out from under him, causing him to collapse onto his back. It was then that the python finally released its jaws from Kong's arm, for now it a chance to strike at a more vulnerable target.

As the snake slithered up his chest and toward his throat, Kong noticed the trees around him and had a spark of an idea race across his mind. Fighting through the crushing agony he was in, he used his free hand to reach out and take hold of one of the nearby trees. Just as the python as only a few feet away from his exposed neck, Kong managed to rip the tree out of its roots and shove right down the giant snake's throat. The python began to gag at the sudden intrusion in its mouth. As it did, it's coils loosed on Kong's body, giving the ape the chance to grab the serpent and shove it off of him. Kong sprang back to his feet once more just as the python crushed the tree in its jaws.

Kong roared in defiance at his adversary with fists at the ready as the snake hissed back at him. Kong changed toward the python as it coiled its upper body back in order to strike at its prey once more. The giant snake struck again, but this time Kong was ready for the attack. As the python was in mid-strike, Kong punched his opponent across the face, knocking it to the ground. Before the serpent ground recover from the hit, the king of Skull Island stomped on python's back and pinned it against the ground. As the python struggled to free itself out from under Kong's foot, the giant ape reached down and took hold of his enemy's head in both his hand and began to pull. Within seconds the python's head was torn from its body before being tossed back into the river. With his enemy dead, Kong let out a roar of victory as he beat his chest, once again declaring himself the undisputed champion of the island.

With his opponent dead, Kong looked at the now headless body of the python that had attempted to consume him. He then felt his stomach begin to ache with hunger. Fighting both the intruders and the python had made him quite famished and he had just inadvertently made a meal for himself. Kong picked up the snake's body and bit off a chuck of the serpent's flesh. Liking the taste, Kong slung the rest of the python's body over his shoulder and began to journey back to his lair so that he could enjoy the rest of his meal in peace.

* * *

If it wasn't going to be some creature on the island that was going kill them, the heat seemed like it would first. For at least three hours now, Korra and the rest of her group had ventured further into the island as they made their long journey toward the rendezvous point. As the headed deeper into the jungle, they would occasionally hear the sound of some unknown animal that roamed the island, and judging by their roars or other calls, it sounded like they were hungry. The terrain was difficult to traverse for long periods of time, and it was even harder that they were each carrying a share of the supplies on their backs in make-shift backpacks.

With Colonel Raizo still missing, the three firebenders turned to the Avatar as their temporary leader. As they traveled together, Korra spoke more with the soldiers and listened as they shared some of stories with the Avatar. The trio's names where Tao, Zhen and Oko. Tao was tall, but well-built solider had had been serving under the colonel's command since he was eighteen years old. He had fought alongside Raizo during his campaigns against the pirates that plagued the Fire Nation trade routes. It was there that he received a large scar across his left cheek from the blade of a pirate's knife. He was a man of few words and merely wished to return home to his pregnant wife in time to see his child born.

Zhen was a skinny, bald man and like his name suggested, he was a calm man. His mother was once an Air Acolyte who married a solider from the Fire Nation who was on a relief mission to the Earth Kingdome to provide food for the more poorer territories. While Zhen was a man of peace, he understood that sometimes force was needed in order to defend one's self and those around him. Tao claimed that Zhen's firebending skills were extraordinary, but the peaceful solider modestly said that he was nowhere near the power the Colonel wielded.

Finally, there was Oko. A scrawny man with a long nose and thin eyebrows, almost making his face more bird-like than human. Oko was once a thief who given a choice: prison or the military. He was the solider who had attacked Zhu-Li earlier, and since then, he had done nothing but complain the entire journey through the jungle. He was occasionally silenced by a glare from Tao, but even then, he would find something else to argue about. While Korra kept a calm demeanor, her patience around Oko was starting wear thin.

As for Asami and Zhu-Li, they kept pace with Korra and the soldiers. Asami was used to these long treks with her girlfriends and Zhu-Li had been worst situations than this with Varrick. Even still, kora could see that the inventor's wife looked exhausted. No doubt the jungle heat was doing nothing for her illness and the longer they kept on the move, the worse Zhu-Li's condition would become, and while they had managed to recover medicine from the Airship's wreckage, it was only a handful of painkillers. Zhu-Li had kept quiet for the most part, but it obvious from one look on her sweat covered face that she needed some time to rest.

"Let's take a break" Korra said to the others "We'll start moving again in ten minutes"

"You wanna stop here?" Oko questioned "There's no place to sit!"

"As I recall, Oko, you said your feet hurt earlier" the Avatar argued "you wanna keep moving?"

Oko sneered at the girl before taking off his pack and sitting on a small stone. Zhun-Li sat down on a large root that grew out from the tree she was currently under, letting out a small sigh of relief as she did. However, Asami, Tao and Zhen remained standing.

"Tao and I will scout ahead" Zhen began "We'll report back if we find anything"

Korra nodded acknowledgement before the two firebenders moved further ahead into the surrounding jungle. Oko only let out a 'hmph!' at his comrade's actions before digging around his pack for his share of rations. Meanwhile, Korra walk over to the tree that Zhu-li was standing under and began to inspect closely. She remembered back to when she used the spiritual energy within Republic City to help her rescue Wu and began to wonder if she could use the same technique to locate the other survivors. The Avatar took a deep, calming breath as she placed her hand on the tree. She then focused her spiritual energy into the tree so that it spread out into the island and find the others. But as tried to focus her energy into the tree, she felt nothing in return.

"That's not right" she said in shock as she back away from the tree

"What's wrong?" Asami asked

"It's this place" Korra began "I was trying to use the spiritual energy from this island to see if I could find Mako and the others, but I can't feel anything. It's as if this whole island is cut off from the spirit world"

"How could that even be possible?" her lover inquired "Then you reunited the two worlds, it allowed the spirits to travel across the world again"

"Maybe they took one look at the thing that stranded us here and ran" the Avatar surmised with a joke

"Or maybe your powers are working and the others are just dead" Oko commented

Korra and Asami shot the solider a glare that he returned to them in kind before they continued on with ignoring him. While none of the women would say it out loud, they all had a sinking fear at the bottom of their stomachs that Oko could be right.

"I'm sure their ok" Asami assured both her lover and Zhu-Li "the boys have been through worse than this"

"I hope your right" Korra agreed "But this still doesn't make any sense. This is covered with life and yet it's still feels spiritually dead"

"Avatar Korra!" Tao's voice called out as he and Zhen returned to the group "We've found something!"

"What is it?" Korra inquired

"It looks like a temple" Zhen answered "or at least the remains of one"

"What's a temple doing here?" Zhu-Li pondered "This island's been cut off from the rest of the world for thousands of years"

"Yeah well there wasn't supposed to be a giant monkey here either, but look how that turned out" Oko reminded her harshly

"Let's check it out" the Avatar suggested "if anything, maybe we could use it for shelter for the night"

After gathering up their supplies, Korra and the others followed the two firebenders further into the jungle. As they walked, Asami noticed that the path they were travelling appeared to have been already walked through, as if someone else had made this pathway long before they did. As Zhu-li had said, there was no chance of human life ever existing here due to its isolation from the rest of the world. But then again, as Oko had mentioned, no one thought that a giant ape could also exist here either, so at this point the young industrialist was more than willing to except anything. As Asami entertained the idea of people already living on the island, she began to wonder as to how exactly it was possible for anyone to survive on an island like this with a giant creature roaming about, not to mention the other wildlife that roamed the island as well.

Soon enough, the group were brought before the remnants of a small temple. The few stone walls that were still left standing were covered in vines and moss that had clung onto them over the years. The rood of the temple was completely roof, weather it was by the march of time or by the monster's hand it was hard to say. As Korra and the others entered the ruins, they could see the cracked and grass covered ground which was covered with bricks that had been eroded by the passing centuries. The group began to spread out through the ruins as the closely studied the decaying stone walls and the faint sketches of the drawings they once had on them.

"Who do you think could've built this?" Zhen asked

"Whoever it was it looks like they've been gone a long time" Asami surmised

As they continued to inspect the area, Zhu-Li noticed a statue in the corner. Curious by its appearance, the former assistant moved closer toward it to get better look at the statue. The statue was that of a man covered in what looked like tribal body paint and loose clothing with a spear held tightly in his hand. Just as Zhu-Li was only a few inches away from the face, the statues eyes suddenly spanned open, making her let out shriek in fright as she instinctively jerked back from what she first thought was a statue. Zhu-Li's cries caught the attention of Korra and the others just as the 'statue' was revealed to be a living person who had begun to move toward Zhu-Li with its spear pointed directly at her face. Luckily, she managed to back away far enough away from the receiving end of the tribesman weapon and back to the rest of the group, but just as she had done that, they realized that other men with spears had already encircled them.

With their paths of escape blocked off and surrounded on all sides, Korra and the firebenders generated fire daggers while Zhu-Li and Asami got into a battle stance. However, just as the Avatar and the other benders had created their flames, the islanders's eyes widened in shock before they suddenly kneeled before them as if they were in the presence of royalty. Korra and the rest of the group were of course confused by this sudden change, but before they could speak, a voice answered spoke up.

"You'll have to excuse them, they haven't seen a bender in a long time" an old woman's voice explained before adding on "come to think of it, neither have I"

The old woman whom the voice belonged to slowly stepped out from behind of the stone walls and into the group's view. The woman was short with skin that had been tanned by her obviously long exposure to the sun. Her eyes were dark grey color, a clear indicator that she hailed from the Fire Nation. She had her long, silver-colored hair tied into a ponytail that reached down to the small of her back and used a bamboo stick as a makeshift cane to support her elderly form. But what stood out the most for Korra and her group was her attire. The old woman was dressed in the dirt covered remains of a Kyoshi Warrior uniform. The head piece was missing and the body armor had what looked like claw marks cut deep into it.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Avatar" she continued "I thought I'd never see you again"

"How do you know me?" Korra questioned

"I could sense that you were the Avatar through power in your aura" she answered "But I knew you better in your past life"

"You knew Aang?" the Avatar asked "we're you two friends?"

"Not at first, but eventually we became close friends" the woman replied "though to be honest, I was more interested Sokka than him"

"Listen lady, I don't know if you've noticed but there's something out there!" Oko cut in

"Oh, there's a lot of somethings out there" the old man affirmed with a small chuckle "You should come with us back to the village before it gets dark"

"Wait, just who are you anyway?" Korra inquired

The old woman gave the bender a bright smile like she had when she first met Aang and his friends for the first time, even though she was trying to help kill him.

"My name is Ty-Lee" she introduced herself

* * *

 **A/N: if you're wondering as to why I had Kong fight a giant python in this chapter instead of the squid, it was reference to the 1976 remake of King Kong which was the first Kong movie I ever saw. Also, I hope you all enjoyed the inclusion of Ty-Lee in this story, even if she's grown old.**


End file.
